Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Wrongfully accused of shoplifting!

266 replies

user1465893706 · 14/06/2016 11:10

Thursday I visited a well known supermarket that I frequently visit. Did my shopping fine (without the aid of kids....lovely) went to leave the shop and the alarm barriers went off, backed up my trolley (thought it may have been the gentleman walking beside me who had triggered the alarm) and tried again, same thing happened. I got the attention of the lady working on the self service checkouts and showed her my receipt. I told her the probable cause of the alarm was the razor blades I had purchased. She checked my receipt and couldn't find razor blades on it. I had to dig through my bags to finally find the razor blades in the middle of one of my bags. Was a little annoyed at this point as the checkout girl had obviously not scanned correctly (to busy moaning to me about supermarket and how she has got a new job lined up). I was then taken to customer services and I paid for the razor blades after pointing out that maybe they should have words with the checkout girl to make sure she scans products correctly. I then left the shop. Got to my car, had to repack most of my shopping as most of it had been taken out of the bags in search of the razor blades, loaded my bags into the boot, put the trolley in the bay, got into my car and went to put my key into the ignition (all this had taken a fair amount of time). Just as I was about to start the car I had a tap on my window. I opened my car door to a woman dressed in black who then asked to see my receipt?!? I explained to her that all this was sorted out in the shop and I had paid for the razor blades. She then continued to tell me that was not the issue and it was the fact I had a lot of products in my shopping trolley not bagged up??? At this point I was getting very frustrated. I emptied the contents of my handbag only to find receipts not their then realised they must be in my shopping bags in the boot. I had to get the woman to move out of my way (she had came round the side of my car door as if to block me in) to exit the car. When I got to the boot of my car I was astonished to see the manager behind my car and 4 other employees a little further up blocking the car park??? 6 people in total!!!! I'm a 5ft woman in her 20's!!!! At this point I was absolutely furious, shaking and on the verge of tears. I managed to find the receipts and got the woman to look in my car although after all that she wasn't bothered in checking all my bags and just simply said "I can see its all there" (how when its all packed I do not know) I then asked the woman and the manager for an apology. She begrudgingly apologised but the manager point blank refused saying " I don't have to apologise if I suspect a thieve" they then left me. Luckily there was someone who witnessed all this that knows me from sight from my daughters pre school so she calmed me down enough so I could drive home (although I do not remember actually driving home). Luckily my husband was at home that day and as soon as I got home I had a full blown panic attack. My husband calmed me down, got a friend to sit with me, and took all my shopping back and demanded a refund, he eventually got it. He asked to speak to the manager 3 times and each time he refused to come speak to my husband. On the 4th attempt he got the employee to relay on the phone that he was not willing to come and apologise as in his eyes I was still a thief? I have written a letter of complaint and am still awaiting I response.

OP posts:
ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 14/06/2016 11:40

Super
You need to read more carefully FFS

However, if you presented it for scanning and the employee failed to scan it then you are not a thief. You had attempted to pay for all the items and it is the shop that failed to take payment - difficult to spot within a large supermarket shop being scanned quickly.

One of the necessary elements for theft is dishonesty - if you tried to pay and the shop failed to take payment in a situation where you might reasonably not notice that payment hadn't been taken then there is no dishonesty so no theft.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 14/06/2016 11:43

Beryl
Is false imprisonment a crime? I thought it was a tort?

TooMuchCoffeeMakesMeZoom · 14/06/2016 11:44

I agree that writing to the CEO is the best option if you ended up having a full-blown panic attack. You need to find a way of getting redress that doesn't increase your stress levels.

BerylStreep · 14/06/2016 11:44

Yes, there is a criminal offence of false imprisonment - will go and get the reference.

Tram10 · 14/06/2016 11:45

A friend and her friend were falsely accused of shoplifting by some gung-ho security person. They were totally humiliated and had no idea why he got the idea they had shoplifted, they had receipts for everything they had just purchased and he still made them sit in the office while they went through the CCTV. They were awarded a very nice sum in compensation. (around £15,000 or £20,000 each).

EveryoneElsie · 14/06/2016 11:45

I'd wrote to the manager asking that in future any similar problems are sorted at the till.

Ledeluge · 14/06/2016 11:46

I don't understand why you thought it would be the razor blades then they turned out to be the item that had not been scanned? Why would you suspect the razor blades would trigger the alarm?

Not being unsympathetic, that sounds awful, just don't get it.

Susiebearlove · 14/06/2016 11:47

Name and shame them on social media. The fact that the manager didn't come to speak to your partner after four attempts shows he's a ball-less wonder. He was happy to speak like a bastard to a woman but when he's confronted by a man, he's a coward. I'd be upset.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 14/06/2016 11:48

Beryl
Thanks - I'd appreciate that

BerylStreep · 14/06/2016 11:50

Chaz here is a link with an example where individuals have been charged with false imprisonment by CPS: serving prisoners charged with false imprisonment

It is an offence at common law.

londonmummy1966 · 14/06/2016 11:50

I really feel for you OP - I had this at TK MAxx - bought a make up box as a birthday gift and cashier didn't remove tag - was accosted by extremely aggressive young man in the middle of my local high street and frogmarched back into the shop. He then said everything was fine so I walked out again and he then chased after me with 2 colleagues - both about 6 ft 5 tall who surrounded me and arched me back again. I was shaking at that point and then then proceeded to go through all my bags (not just the stuff from TK Maxx) in the shop doorway where everyone could see me. They then found the unremoved security tag and - just like you - was told that they would not apologise. Luckily I wasn't driving as I was in such a state I'd never have made it home safely. I still feel ill when I walk past the shop.

As it was a major supermarket chain my advice would be that you look on their head office website and find the name of the main board director responsible for stores and write to him/her personally setting out what happened and pointing out you have a witness. They wil be responsible and prefessional in dealing with you and make further action less stressful for you. I am sure that you will get an apology from them and can probably also get them to force an apology out of the store manager if that is what you want. You will probably also get gazillions of money off vouchers you could use for an on line shop .....

FeliciaJollygoodfellow · 14/06/2016 11:50

Where exactly was she falsely imprisoned? They looked at her bags in her own car, while it sounds intimidating she was not imprisoned.

Sounds like a huge overreaction from the shop. Can't imagine a branch managed using the words 'in my eyes she's still a thief' if I'm honest.

user1465893706 · 14/06/2016 11:51

ChazsBrilliantAttitude that is the thing I never attempted to leave the shop. the shop has 2 sets of double doors and I only got to the first set of doors and it was me who got the attention of staff at no point did I attempt to the store with items I hadn't paid for. The razor blades are not kept in a security box so I had no knowledge that it hadn't been scanned correctly. and yes I do feel I have to take this further as I was publicly humiliated!!!! Hope that clears a few things up.

OP posts:
houseeveryweekend · 14/06/2016 11:51

God thats awful poor you!! id hate that how upsetting. Surely they couldve seen on the reciept that youd gone to an actual checkout instead of self service and theres very little way you couldve purposefully stolen razors. It happens all the time that people leave the security tags on stuff. I had it happen to me that i set the alarms off and they couldnt even find what was doing it in the end! No one asked to see all my reciepts or acted like i was a thief. Why on earth would you stroll out knowing you had a stolen item that would set off the alarms? Thieves usually run or they try and avoid the alarms. Clearly from your reaction you were not actually trying to steal anything it was just a mistake.

BabyGanoush · 14/06/2016 11:51

Waffles, the European Court of Human Rights has NOTHING to do with the EU (sorry, could not resist, to much malformation out there! )en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Human_Rights

OP, I would google who the CEO is of the company (Tesco? Sainsbo?) and e-mail them directly, and also go on social media with it. Twitter etc.

LarkDescending · 14/06/2016 11:53

False imprisonment is a civil, not criminal, matter in the law of England & Wales. It is one of the few civil matters which can still be tried by jury.

However, the act of the person complained about has to be unlawful. It is not unlawful for a storekeeper to detain you for a reasonable amount of time to investigate a suspicion of theft, even if the person investigated is entirely innocent.

ilovesooty · 14/06/2016 11:53

If you're this traumatised already do you really want to be plastered over social media?

travellinghopefully12 · 14/06/2016 11:56

Ledeludge - I think because the razor blades were an item with an alarm on and the OP rightly thought that it might not have been deactivated.

Horrendous for you. Complain in every manner possible.

maggiethemagpie · 14/06/2016 11:56

Complain in writing to head office. You may get a £10 voucher or something.

I was once wrongly accused of shoplifting in boots, I made a point of telling the security guard how rubbish he was at his job and did he need more training, made me feel better anyway.

wasonthelist · 14/06/2016 11:57

I don't go looking for staff if I trigger the alarms - I don't steal from shops so any alarms are their problem, not mine. So far I haven't had anyone come after me.

It's beyond appaling they treated you this way in response to your trying to do the right thing OP.

BerylStreep · 14/06/2016 11:59

Another link which outlines that shopkeepers can detain for a reasonable time on probable cause that someone has taken items without paying.

I suppose there is a possibility that they have seen examples in the past where people secrete 4 or 5 items, buzzer goes off, and the person returns and says, oh, it must have been the razorblades, whilst the other 4 items are still hidden away. However, the case here is that it appears to have been the cashier's mistake, presumably the buzzers didn't go off when the OP left the store the second time, and there is no actual evidence that she has made an attempt to shoplift items, so the shopkeeper's defence doesn't really cut it in this situation.

StrangeLookingParasite · 14/06/2016 12:00

he was not willing to come and apologise as in his eyes I was still a thief?

WTF??? This would make me insane with rage.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 14/06/2016 12:00

Beryl
It looks like we are both right
"False imprisonment is a common law offence related to assault and battery. Like these, it is a form of the tort of trespass against the person as well as being a crime.2 It must involve confining a person within a limited area.3"
Law Commission Review

wasonthelist · 14/06/2016 12:01

It is not unlawful for a storekeeper to detain you for a reasonable amount of time to investigate a suspicion of theft, even if the person investigated is entirely innocent.
Presumably, it wouldn't have been unlawful for the OP to get in her car and drive off, either? What constitues "detain"?

January87 · 14/06/2016 12:01

They had no right to riffle through your bags after you had left the shop. They can only stop you if they are sure you have shoplifted. You can sue them.